GRIZZ’s English 2001 S10 Extra Cab 4.3 V6 Truck

[Grizz1963]

Monday @nickwheeler came around and we carried on with the exhaust pipe

Starting at the down pipe flange, measuring, cutting and welding the straight pipe together.

Short video clip. CLICK LINK.

https://youtu.be/P17LbbgotUs

Resulting in this.





A load of jiggery pokerey and push and pulling later, Nick extended the over axle exhaust section as it became apparent that the anticipated route of the pipe was not ideal when I realised it could go over the rear shock and axle, not between them.

Having cut the straight pipe to accommodate the bend in the initial position it now needed about 50mm added onto it to reach the straight sleeve.



In the mean time I found some 12mm rod to add to the chassis and exhaust to fit the rubber hangers to.

Some serious bending and banging later these went on.



Both done, a few more to make up.

Time thieves, but they all need making up.



Some tight spot grinding, and welding.

All good fun ehhh?





Getting us to this point.



Now the next hour or so was spent along with other bits of time, trying to make the rear box @kevins had donated, fit in the space available as a side exit was also out the question.

In the end I decided to order a shorter, 315mm long, 2 inch exit/entry rear box from Jetex on Ebay, in black so it blends.

Another £50.00 scattered to the hobby gods.

Delivery expected Thursday.

Hopefully cutting and shaping the over axle pipe to get it shorter and mounted higher won’t take half a day, and then the box and a tip attached to the rear as well as the hanging brackets that need to be individually made and shaped before welding them on.

Once we had the car off the axle stands where it had lived the last week, I measured the lowest point on the exhaust with two passengers loaded and like the front crossmember it came to 90mm or 3 inches.



Seemed pretty low……….

BUT

Looking at the year 2000 Mazda MX5 dimensions it seems it was a low car to start with.




4 day week this week.

Day job squarely in the way of fun, but have bought 4 more exhaust hanger rubbers and a couple of other small jobs to fit in after hours.

More about them later.

Thanks for checking in and posting your replies, opinions, and advice.

Much appreciated.

[Palf70Step]

Looking good Rian. I think it would be REALLY good with those great big meats in the rear. Keep on roll'n bud!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Looking good Rian. I think it would be REALLY good with those great big meats in the rear. Keep on roll'n bud!

Thanks Bill.

Little bit more every day.



Badges.

Remember them.

Covered in floor polish, crazy? Seems not.







Last night I also added the second layer of scrim foam.



Tonight I cut it back and then trimmed the edges.

Next stop will be the black vinyl.

Fingers crossed.



Also yesterday, I went to JWE engineering to see about having a Custom propshaft made up.

Mazda one side, Ford on the other.

Around £200.00 and I supply the MX5 propshaft to have a Ford back end added on.



So I measured it and delivered ‘them today.



Turn around time could be 2-3 days

.the differential flange uses bolts, screwed into it.

Weird size that I cannot readily buy off the shelf is a collared, M10 x 1 and 18mm long bolt.

So need to get four of these high tensile bolts.



I continue to be amazed by some vendors on Ebay.

On Monday evening I ordered this silencer.

Delivered before midday today.

Service.

Compared to the unit @kevins gave me, this is a bit shorter and smaller.

Just hope it all fits neatly.





Last bit of delivery pleasure today was the stick on number plate to go on the rear.



This will fit in above the fuel filler toolbox and next to the rear lights.

.

[Grizz1963]

I realised that on RetroRides the post count was going silly.

And looked at it over 24 hours.

NUTS.


24 HOURS……


Who is looking in on this thread?


Almost 1400 views in 24 hours. Well, 1385 in the last 24 hrs.






I am amazed and guess there are a certain amount of lurkers out there clicking in and out and never commenting.

Thank you all who take the time to post comments and advice.

Plus pop in for a cuppa and cookies.

[Grizz1963]

Small parcel in the mail yesterday.

Thanks again @peteh1969 for making the effort for a total stranger.

I suspect many of you can guess where the name badge is headed.

The RocketPigs are actually left handers, or mirror images of the ones I painted before.

My mild OCD asked for them to all be pointing forward and Pete was kind enough to print off a new set.

Also included was the cars name.




I managed to snap one on trying to straighten it out gently, so added automotive double sided tape to fix it to the toolbox on tje rear.

Than followed up with black paint all over.



Then 4 very light coatings of silver chrome paint.



Once fitted to the rear of the Rezin Rockit they will be fixed to it.

But before that I need to paint the background out in black to allow the letters to “pop”



While I was down there, I decided to give vinyl covering the first kick panel a go.

Contact adhesive, light pressure, new Stanley knife blade and away we go.

Curve done first, many cuts to allow the best stretching and shaping on the curve.





Job completed, well, first panel done.



And fitted.

Yes, I know…...

Loads more to get done.



If the rest of the vinyl comes out this well, I will be very pleased.

Weekend tomorrow.

Lots to do.

[Grizz1963]

And then mate Fil, “Sparkplug” goes and does a quick photoshop.



Getting to look even better.

[Grizz1963]

WHEN YOU CAN SMELL A PICTURE.








Don’t you just love a 48 hour turnaround.


Called in at JWE Engineering

[a href”https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...7fD0BeoUt8]JWE Engineering[/a]

Dropped off my two prop-shafts and measurements and less than 48 hrs later they called me back to say I can come collect.

£200.00 including the four special M10x1 18mm shouldered bolts later and I was on my way to a work meeting.

Great to get it on a Friday so @nickwheeler and I can have a test fit later today.



Back home I had a chance to take a look.



Happy with that.

Black, new parts. Shiny.

[Grizz1963]

Small jobs.










And then also painted the three new pigs.




While @nickwheeler crawled around, I made a splash apron for the filler neck.



Followed by a tacked in brace to keep the toolbox in place.



What it will look like. Later.



And the highlight of my day.

No words needed.





Gutted and super angry with allowing myself to get distracted like this.

The instructions were so clearly written on both sides.

I guess happens to some of us.

I did laugh and laugh.

Tired tonight.

[Grizz1963]

So yesterday the other TWO BIG BOXES TICKED.

One was the new custom built Propshaft, bolted in after I cleaned the threads on the diff flange.

Simple cheque book job, but pivotal.

Really does make it look more complete under there.



Second job was to complete (bar two small chassis hanger bracket welds I have to go do in a bit) the exhaust build, using the shorter new silencer I bought last week.

@nickwheeler and I have had very few differences of opinion on this build, which is probably why we are both still enjoying it, and each other’s company

HOWEVER Nick is a more oldskool rodder at heart, and prefers things simple, monochrome, hidden and functional.

Me on the other hand………. Saddle up that unicorn 🦄

So I like a chrome tipped exhaust system, slightly noisy, and things like the toolbox filler and a spanner hanging from the towball.

Get the picture?

So this is Nick’s Nirvana and my chalk on a blackboard look.



Tucked away, out of sight and only a curved downpipe would suit Nick.

I wanted a chrome tailpiece to end right in line with the rear bumper.

So in order to achieve both our goals…… you see, compromise.

The over axle/shock pipe needed to be raised by 70mm and tucked back toward the axle by 100mm to get the tip in under the bumper.

So measuring, cutting, and welding the exit at a different height and plane needed to be done.

And if you recall my screw up with the kick panel vinyl yesterday, Nick managed to do it as well……..

25mm on the wrong side, only thing is, his mistake was on the safe side, so he could cut another 25mm off to get it to the right point for welding up.

And he got it spot on, after the powerfile was employed, you can hardly see it under there unless it was pointed out.

Bloody brilliant.



Next job was to create a a double ended hanger bracket to secure the silencer to the chassis/rear bumper.

Some 12mm rod, BFH, a pole and the grinder with some welds later……



Tacked in place because the welder started to play up, not giving decent penetration.

I will weld it in as soon as I have done this write up, everything takes time.

Also in the shortening and raising was actually cutting off 60mm of the bent pipe, where it is flared, then welding a slip in section from a Metro Cat-back pipe that then sleeved into the silencer.

A big win for fitting and reducing overall length.



Hangers test fitted.



And the side view with the rear wheel removed shows how well this all came out.

Once on the ground with the wheel fitted it was even more stealthy and tidy.



After refitting the wheel, getting it off the axle stands and rolling it out, Nick was very pleased with the stealth look.

I was looking for a chrome 2” tip to add to the rear…… you know, a bit of contrast 😉

It may just have to stay like this, however, a BLACK rolled tip would be on my shopping list next to tidy the rear tip slightly.

Nick won this one.

Chuffed to bits.



So tools packed away by 7.00pm and pulled the car back under cover, using the gearbox to stop it.

For the first time since this build started it was not held in place by a block of wood.

John the lodger did the honours.



Right, time to get started out there.

Handbrake, Electrics, tow hitch wiring on the menu today.

Not quite ready to start up.

Oh, and clutch and brakes need more work.

[Grizz1963]

One of those parts seemingly not easy to buy off the shelf.

Brake reservoir for the car.

@glenanderson came up trumps with this gem.





I also managed to stick weld upside down to a questionable standard if it were a trade test, however, it will hold.

For a long time.

Splatter still burns and getting started does involve swearing.



Love the positioning.



Bit of paint.



That is the exhaust system, gasket in, bolted down all the way.

Next job.

[Palf70Step]

Like the black wzybetter than the Shiney. Good work crew.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Like the black wzybetter than the Shiney. Good work crew.

Morning mate

Yes, the black is 100% better.

The shiny was free, but that did not make it right, unfortunately.

The whole black underside theme looks uniform.






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1

And it is Monday again.


Another day of stuff getting done.

I removed the self destruct button from the rear that fascinated a few people.

Suspect it was an alarm switch attached to the monitoring of the original rear mounted spare wheel.

Filled all the holes on the rear too with a fiber resin mix.



Nick got going on threading the rear wiring, and managed to get them the wrong way round, soon fixed by removing and refitting correctly.



Some of the lines are not yet live due in part to his over eager stripping back of the loom.

But should get a fix next weekend.



Due to the situation of the MX5 fuel tank, directly behind the drivers seat, we were concerned that this loom may need extending by 150-300mm

Glad to report that a big Whooooop ! From under the car signified the moment Nick got that wired in without the need for extending.

This is a big win and having everything fit safe and loosely under the rear floor was always planned, hence me dropping the tank lower by 50mm when I added the tabs.




During the day I removed the lifting straps, cleared out some of the materials in the carport and did a bunch of little odd jobs that need doing.

Looks tidy and like a real car under there now.

Glare does not allow a decent picture to be taken.



Also did final fit for the fuel filler toolbox and bolted that down.

And mocked up the license plate.

Happy with that.



Still a ton of small jobs to get done like adding fiberglass and resin to the floor for reinforcement

Final fitting of the seats once they go back in.

Lights, dash upholstery and other panels, plus a final decision on heater blower vents and pipework.

And then some more bits.

Have a good week.

[Grizz1963]

One of Sundays jobs was reconnecting the hndbrake.

And yes, it works, engages rear wheel drums, but…… the handbrake will not engage a ratchet.

The handle lifts, the button is locked in place.

Any ideas?





So that did not work too well.

Advice?

Anyone for a handbrake lever stashed somewhere?

Thanks.

[Grizz1963]

Remember the blower/heater unit built and fitted a while ago?

I need to finalise and button that up.

Went to the scrapyard yesterday and did not find the ideal donor, but a corrugated vacuum cleaner pipe could just work.

Also found these two damaged, but neat toys (ornaments) for sale at £5.00 each.

And when I got home I pushed the car out into the sunlight for a better pic of the rear end.

Not perfect, but better.







.

[Grizz1963]

Yesterday evening, Mickey came knocking.

He had a parcel, and a silly grin.

The man is nosey.

Once I got the parcel, I started to chuckle and laugh.

I had a few people spring to mind who could have sent it, appropriately decorated with an apology.

@pedalcarjoe @sparkplug Fil who fetched the car @peteh1969 and even @mercdan68 who drives past my home every day, but may have sent a parcel.

The guy I did not at all have spring to mind first was @glenanderson




So when I opened the box, out popped an unobtainable brake reservoir for the master cylinder previously fitted.

Thanks Glen !

Massive help this is, again because I could not order one anywhere.




I will clean it up some time after work and have it ready to install by the weekend along with the brake pipes for the front end.


Progress is progress, however little it is.

[Grizz1963]

This week I capitulated and bought George some dry food.

He usually gets ham or chicken when he visits in the morning, and Dreamies when he demands it.

There is water in the water feature and the bird bath has fresh water regularly, and he drinks from there.

So today was a work from home day, and he got a handful of the dry food early.

Later I saw him from my office, drinking from the lodgers bathroom toilet.

Guess it passed his muster.



I certainly would not.

More randomness, this time the scrapyard had these broken toys (perfect garage ornaments) for £5.00 each.

I have not bought them.



Sally and I go walk Bonnie the dog randomly on the farm through fields etc.

I was previously asked about where I live,

Between the Thames and Medway rivers and English Channel.

[Grizz1963]

So the next little win was cleaning up the brake reservoir.

Anyone look inside one before?

It is a serious labyrinth of inaccessible walls.

So I thought I would try various different things to clean it the best I can.




Petrol and brush, wash and rinse failed.
Jif/Handy Andy/amonia based kitchen cleaner failed.
Bleach failed.
Hot water and bleach failed.
Then popped to Mickey next door and grabbed some sharp sand (Google it) and added it, along with Fairy Liquid dish washing liquid and some water to create a thick gloopy paste and shook it around for a bit.
After this a thourough multiple rinse gave me the result I had hoped for.

Almost looks like new.




Should blend in nicely with the rest of the clean and new parts.

.

[Grizz1963]

Remember the movie JAWS?

Every time you think it is safe……

Felt like that last night.

I constantly hope to be finished with the grinder on this built, and then it has to come out again.

Last night, after removing the side handle (I hacked a finger tip doing this 30 years ago) I slipped it from the diff, up the transmission tunnel to get to the 6 rusted in bolts and cut them back in order to remove the rubber boot on the handbrake lever.



Then, taking the best part of an hour (yes, I am extremely patient) a load of Duck oil and a screwdriver, small ball pein hammer and a ton of up and down, in and outing, I tried to get the button to release so that I could hand operate it.

FAILED TOTALLY.

It moves in and out, but only with serious persuasion.














In the end I walked away as I could not figure how to get the rubber handle off, without damaging it.

I sprayed more Duck oil in from both ends, using the extension to get in from the bottom.

Seems this has truly succumbed to 15 plus years out in a field in Scotland.

[Grizz1963]

Handbrake seized up.

Take 2

Using vice grips on top, undo mounting bolts, clevis etc.

Remove.



Then using the bench vice to support the handle, and a ball pein hammer on the ratchet catch, I managed to slip the handle off the lever.



And eventually………

Culprit.



Button, felt washer, spring and a support washer.



And the inside…… more rust.



Solution……

Some coarse sand paper on a shaft, slipped over the release rod and a load of rotation and in and out movement.



Also the felt washer clearly needed to be replaced.

Where to buy these little parts from though.

Bugggerrr.



Around 12.30 Nick came sauntering down the garden path.

Coffee time.

[Grizz1963]

You know those tubs or tins of absolutely useless nuts, bolts, screws, fasteners, springs etc?

After coffee, I headed into the back corner of the garage and started to rummage through my useless tubs and tins…….

Much to @nickwheeler ‘s amusement, he even recorded the madness.



So………

I found a spring.

And some felt that I used to use on my woodwork to cover ornament bases.



So I made a four layer washer while Nick made the spring fit, we needed 4 washers to take up the space as the spring was shorter than the original.

Assembled, and filled with white grease to prevent some future corrosion



Next up, I made a failed collar to hold the rubber collar, washer and tunnel together….

So Nick started another, using thicker aluminium and better planning, while I got distracted by another job.

Much better.

Note the directions, clearly written on the one side.



Blowing up?

Nick underneath, getting it down.



It will get unscrewed one more time at least…..

When I get to carpeting the floor as well.



Nick Reassembled the handbrake cables and was happy to pronounce a functioning handbrake.

It needs adjustment, but hey………

It is fixed.


.

[Palf70Step]

Good work. Glad it all came together.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Good work. Glad it all came together.

You can get a new one on Ebay, but £249.00 or near $340.00 is too much.

And even used if you could find it……. Naaaaahhhh.

[Grizz1963]

So while Nick cut, measured, cut, ground and made up the last part for the rebuilt handbrake lever and fittings, I carried on with a job that had been spinning around in my head for some time now.

How to balance the number plate, light and toolbox to the left which left a large vacant space on the right.

I always wanted the car to have a 4x100 space saver spare wheel and a simple brace and jack.

Planning was to just bolt the wheel in the rear boot of the car.

Simple really.

But if you recall, the car came with a spare wheel carrier, long since removed.

So while Nick fabricated, I searched, and then started to fabricate as well.

Space saver and carrier. Studs were 4x108

Ooooopps, too big a gap.



Unless you managed to move the studs closer to each other.

And remove years worth of rust from the threads.



Is this close enough?

Moved the studs closer didn’t I?



Next job………

Tack and stick weld for deep penetration.

Then copy three holes over to the rear tailgate, drill holes and test fit.



Backing plates cut from horrible checker plate.



Not yet fitted, but you get the idea.



Bracket and wheel nuts painted Satin black, Nick and John were super excited watching my work become ever more beautiful.



I masked up the space saver after giving it a good ScotchBrite scour, clean-up

Black centre and the mustard/sand outer rim should look like the wheels fitted to the car. Well, sort of.



And result.

Could possibly paint the rim gold if it looks like it needs it.

Rear was painted all black too.




And while I was working on the spare wheel, which is really just to get me out of trouble, Nick fitted the brake reservoir that @glenanderson had sent earlier in the week.



I must say, I am really pleased with the jobs done today.

More progress made.

.

[Grizz1963]

After another rubbish night, I was woken by the cat I do not own.

After feeding him, he went out to sit and watch is property.



So this morning I fitted the newly welded and painted spare wheel carrier.

No plan to add an alarm switch to the spare, so deleted that.



Masked up the space saver that I had painted black last night after deflating it, tucking the cardboard under the rubber.

Ready for paint.



Once the paint partially dried, I removed the cardboard barrier.

Happy with that.

Tidier than it was 24 hrs ago.



Once spare was fitted to the carrier I fetched the old license plate and the new one.

Ugleee vs pretty.



Then pushed the car out into the sunlight.

Really happy with the look, except the roofrack, or is it roll bar?



Next job was to start on the side panels in the dash to start figuring where to exit the two footwell vents.

Dash back in.

Ohhh, and I redid the scrim foam on the screwed up kick panel.



Marked and made the first hole.



Also made a pair of super ugly joiners for the blower to get to the vent holes.



The back ends will be bonded straight onto the sides of the blower unit.

[Grizz1963]

First bootfair of the year.

Two hours out and back.

Back to yesterday.

While I worked on the heater blower and dash panels, Nick continued with the rear wiring and lights.

Found this unholy mess………



Resulting in 6 hours work to get right, to be tested later today.

And as always, nothing is easy.

He ended up having to cut the mounting bracket bolts as the rivnuts just spun around, and the space up the rear of the body is very limited.

Leading to this.



Much grinding, fabricating and time wasted fixing a previous builders mess us, we got to this point.

Mazda MX5 loom spliced into Ford parts.



And back in the body.

Threaded rod still to be JB Welded in place to hold brackets.



Wash, rinse, repeat on the other side.

Waterproof Connectors were a bit of a “bargain” at £16.00 for the box.




After much planning, measuring, I made up the “ducting” for the blower unit to hopefully connect with the director nozzles.

Then started to attack the actual blower unit box that was made up weeks ago.

I do love a step drill.



Too late for tears.



Possibly the most useful and underrated tool in this whole build.

Powerfile rocks.

Get one.



And ready for the ducting and base plate to be glued on.

Hope it all comes together.




Saw this on FB this morning.

A hot MX5 under there.




What shall we build next then?